


What Are We Going To Do Without You?

by antiquatedgirl



Category: Grantchester (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-07-30 00:34:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16275548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/antiquatedgirl/pseuds/antiquatedgirl
Summary: This came to me a while ago and I just found it again. Hope you like it.





	What Are We Going To Do Without You?

       Geordie didn’t think it would feel like this. He didn’t expect to be feeling this at all. It should have been the other way round. After all he was the policemen, the older one. He expected one day for him to be comforting his grieving widow, speak the words at his funeral, visit his grave. But now Geordie was standing over his body, the body of his friend. He was young, so young. He turned away, he couldn’t look anymore. The stillness was what made it so real because he was so rarely still while alive. Always moving, always talking, smiles, frowns, hands slinging down dice during a backgammon game or flicking a cigarette butt away, reaching out to comfort someone, pulling Geordie to safety as they climbed the church turret.

  
Phil came over to him but didn’t speak. Geordie lit a cigarette and gruffly asked,

  
      “What happened?”

  
      “There was a little girl playing with a ball. It rolled into the street and she went after it. Didn’t see the car headed right for her. Mr. Chambers grabbed her and threw her out of the way. The driver tried to stop but with the rain… I’m sorry Sir.”

  
      “Jesus Christ, I’m going to have to tell Mrs. M and Leonard… and his sister, god damn it!”

  
In his head Geordie apologized to Sidney for his language, it was something they had been working on what with David starting to learn how to talk. But this situation, this damned state he was in called for it. Geordie finished his cigarette and took a deep breath,

  
      “I’m going to ride with him to the coroner’s office and then I’ll go tell them.”

  
Geordie couldn’t watch as they placed his body on a stretcher and covered it with a sheet, a thought drifted through his mind and he quietly snorted a laugh, ‘ _See Sidney_ _you’re a saint now. You’ve got your very own shroud of bloody Turin_.’ The snort turned into a sob but Geordie clamped down on it, he couldn’t break just yet. He had to be strong a while longer. He walked up to the front door, dread weighing his footsteps down. He rang the bell quickly before he could lose his nerve. It swung open to Mrs. Maguire’s sensible face,

  
      “He’s not in. Went to see you, if you want to wait I’ll make you some tea.”

  
Geordie took a deep breath,

  
      “Mrs. M…”

  
She stopped her nattering and looked at him, really looked at him and her sensible, sweet face crumpled.

  
      “No, oh no. Please…”

  
Footsteps came clattering down the stairs behind her and Leonard appeared at the door,

  
      “Oh, hello Inspector. Sidney’s not here…”

  
Geordie clasped Leonard’s shoulder and said,

  
      “Let’s go inside and sit down.”

  
Bewilderment crossed Leonard’s face and he stuttered,

  
      “What’s going on? Inspector?”

  
Mrs. Maguire took Leonard’s hand and led them into the sitting room and they took their seats. Geordie had to be stoic, he had to distance himself from this and so he decided he had to do this by the book.

  
      “This morning at 10:26 am Sidney John Chambers was struck and killed by a car. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

  
Tears streamed down Leonard’s face and Mrs. M snuffled into a handkerchief. Leonard’s voice broke as he asked,

  
      “It was an accident?”

  
Geordie nodded and twisting his hands added,

 

      “There was a little girl playing in the street and she didn’t see the car coming. Sidney died rescuing her.”

  
      “My god, that sainted man.”

  
Mrs. M started crying in earnest and Geordie wanted to escape, no he needed to escape and muttered something about letting Dickens out before leaving the room and bursting outside. Luckily the dog had followed him so he wasn’t truly a liar, he lit another cigarette and slid down against the church wall as he let himself break down.

  
      “What are we going to do without you Sidney? We need you. You hold our family together.”

  
For they were a family, all of them.

  
He knew that telling Jen would be just as hard but they hadn’t been able to track her down yet. After getting the new job at the publishing house she had been able to afford a flat with one of the other office girls but Geordie didn’t have the address. He would have to ask Mrs. M to look for it. After finishing his cigarette he stood and calling for Dickens went inside. The sitting room was empty, Geordie heard noises coming from the kitchen of Mrs. Maguire making tea, when strains of Bechet started to permeate the house Geordie’s eyes filled. Sidney had loved that album. He wandered into Sidney’s office and found Leonard gazing at the record album cover,

  
      “We should bury that album with him when the time comes.”

Leonard nodded sadly as tears dripped down his face. Geordie collapsed into Sidney's favorite chair as the fact that he would never see his friend again really hit him...


End file.
